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Main > About Us > Media Releases
Media Releases:
August 5, 2003
Durbin Creek Elementary School (DCES) will
hold its first day of school on Friday, August 15, one
week after all other St. Johns County Schools open. Students
will come to school at staggered times so that specific
groups of students may visit their classrooms with their
parents.
The cause for the delay is that construction
of the new school is behind schedule and will not be ready
for the first day of class. The school district was first
informed by the contractor on Monday, August 4, that all
classrooms would not be finished as originally planned.
The first day for kindergarten students
will be Tuesday, August 19. Their arrival times will be
staggered throughout the first week so that only seven
students will be in each class each day. By Monday, August
25, all kindergarten students should be in their respective
classes.
Superintendent Joseph Joyner made the decision
to delay the opening of school after meeting with parents
and faculty and receiving input on whether to open with
part of the school still under construction. Parents almost
unanimously agreed that they wanted to wait until the building
was substantially completed and that the safety of their
children could be ensured.
David Toner, Executive Director for Facilities
and Operations, said that a law enforcement officer will
be on site during the opening days to provide security.
No construction will be held during school hours, and workers
will not be allowed on site until one-half hour after students
leave campus. In addition, the Parent Teacher Organization
will provide parents to serve as monitors and student escorts
to make sure that students have safe passage.
The Superintendent is currently in communication
with Education Commissioner Jim Horne to discuss the requirements
of the five make-up days. The district will try to schedule
this time to achieve maximum learning for students along
with the least disruption to families.
“Our primary purpose now is to get
school up and running and to see that students are provided
with a safe and effective learning environment,” said
Superintendent Joyner. “We’ll worry about the
contractual obligations of the contractor at a later time.”
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